KYSERIKE – The library at Rondout Valley High School was packed for the Rondout Valley Growers' Association Forum discussion on the Future of Farming last Wednesday, February 3. RVGA executive director Deborah DeWan set things in motion right from the start by noting how she was "hungry for this conversation." Rosario Agostaro, Rondout Valley schools superintendent, also spoke, and noted his own commitment to agriculture, which he said stemmed from his family's rural roots in Italy.

After a welcome from Bruce Davenport, New York State Agriculture and Markets deputy commissioner Phil Giltner focused on value-added products as evidenced by the "Greek Yogurt" boom, a boost to dairy farmers upstate, and the wild growth of craft beverages including beer, cider, wine and distilled spirits.

"The demand is there," he said. Giltner later mentioned programs to benefit farmers, including "Beginning Farming" funding, which seeks to help with the purchase or lease of equipment such as tractors, coolers and the like.

The event's diverse panel included Nicholas Cippolone of Barthel's Farm Market; Sarah Brannen, Associate Director of Programs at Local Economies Project, farm to table pioneer John Novi of the Depuy Canal House, Jim Hyland of the Farm Bridge, and Sean Konz, a senior from Rondout Valley High School with a strong interest in farming. Moderating was Michael Berg, executive director and founder of Family of Woodstock.

A variety of questions were fielded by the panel, from what changes they had witnessed over the past couple of decades to who the next wave of farmers might be.

Cippolone noted that safer labor practices had been part of the changes, along with a big increase in the number of people farming. Novi said he expected more open space as farmland but lamented that there was no local cheese farm. Hyland said the biggest change was coming from consumers who have become much more aware and able to see through marketing ploys and determine what is real and what is fake. Konz said he felt sure that the move to locally grown and organic food will continue to grow. Brannen reported on the bigger picture forces that are shaping how food is grown and bought.

"The economy favors large operations, it's hard to compete with that," she said, adding a comment about climate change, which is already affecting growing seasons, while also mentioning how the region is "blessed" with water, so much that we're usually more concerned with flooding than with drought.

Tomorrow's farmers? Young Sean Konz said Rondout Valley schools are growing their agricultural programs from elementary school on up. Cipollone noted that while "anyone can be a farmer," succeeding at farming was complicated.

"It's not just growing crops, it's managing a complex business," he explained. Small farmers have to be their own marketing team, their own designers, they have to understand their finances really well. Besides being out in the fields, there's plenty of paperwork sitting on your desk.

Brannen added another crucial point: "What we've learned from farmers at the Farm Hub is that first you have to have a passion for this, and second, you need access to land."

Land, and getting to use it in a stable, long term way, is the biggest single constraint on farming in the region. Cipollone noted that where his grandfather farmed 500 acres, today he farms 25 acres. Brannen said that housing pressure in the Hudson Valley was the biggest threat to farmland. She added that getting school districts to consider buying locally produced food often depended on a "champion" in the form of a school food service director who will push and promote the concept. She urged parents to involve their children in cooking projects, too.

The idea of food education for children came up again, as Nikki Cagan, a local farm to table activist, said one of the best ways was to support farming education in the schools. She praised Rondout Valley as being one of only two school districts in the state that are doing this. Konz agreed that the students at Rondout Valley were lucky to have this opportunity.

That prompted Rosario Agostaro to comment again. He noted that this kind of program has "kids getting their hands dirty... most kids don't know what's in the soil." That connection to the ground that feeds us has been broken for many, the superintendent added, noting that schools have to be willing to teach "life skills," and that can include an understanding of how to grow food.

The RVGA also announced an expanded student scholarship eligibility. High school seniors interested in pursuing studies in food and agriculture are eligible to apply for the 2016 RVGA Scholarship, worth $500. The winner will be a graduating student from high school in the Rondout Valley, or a resident in the Rondout Valley who plans to continue their studies in the fall of 2016. Applications are available at the Ellenville High School guidance office, Kingston High School, Saugerties High School and Rondout Valley High School, or by contacting Deborah DeWan at [email protected] with the word "scholarship" in the subject line.